Cheesy, flaky, savory, and nutty, these biscuits would make a lovely addition to your Thanksgiving table. If you are a bit intimidated by the idea of yeasted rolls or bread for Thanksgiving, biscuits are a simple but equally delicious alternative.
There really are only a few simple tricks for the flakiest biscuits. The first is keeping everything cold. Chilled bits of butter create the most tender biscuits, since these bits will melt and steam in the oven to create layers of flakey goodness. The second key is avoiding overworking the dough. You want to bring the ingredients to from a rough dough you can roll out and cut, but don’t be tempted to over-knead it, which can soften and even melt the butter, undoing the work you did to get chilled bits of butter into the dough in the first place. Keep those two things in mind, and you are just 15 minutes away from an impressive Thanksgiving side.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, frozen
- 1¼ cup English cheddar, grated
- ⅔ cup walnuts, chopped
- ⅔ cup cold buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick baking mat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking powder, and rosemary. Using a box grater, grate the frozen butter (like you would grate cheese) into the flour mixture. Using a fork or your fingers, combine the grated butter with the flour mixture until it is a coarse consistency. There should be some visible chunks of butter still. Stir in cheese and walnuts.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Pour over the dry flour and butter mixture, stirring to incorporate. Mixture will look crumbly. Dump onto a lightly floured surface, and with floured hands, gently knead a few times just until a dough forms. Pat or roll dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds (like folding a letter) and then in half, stacking each fold on top of each other. This creates extra layers in the dough. Gently roll or pat the mixture into a rectangle again about 1 to 1½ inch thick. Cut dough out using a round biscuit cutter (alternatively, if you don't have a biscuit cutter, you can just cut into squares). Place cut out biscuits on prepared baking sheet and place in refrigerator to chill for about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake chilled biscuits for about 13-15 minutes, until cooked through and starting to be become lightly brown on the tops. Remove from oven and cool before serving.
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